THUNDER BAY — Glenn Craig says the beauty of giving a Thunder Bay 50/50 ticket for Christmas is a $2.5-million cheque is one-size fits all.
Everyone can use that kind of cash, said the president and CEO of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation, the highly anticipated draw set to launch on Friday. Last year’s Christmas month grand prize topped out at $3.9 million.
Craig said he has no idea how big this year’s pot will get.
“How long is a piece of string? How high is up? We think, pretty confidently, that we can top that $4-million number easily. If we do the same sort of numbers that we did last year and the way we’re trending up this year, we think it’ll be over $4 million, which is a life-changing amount of money.
“And it’s tax-free. It’s lump sum. You get it all at once, you don’t get it over 20 years. You get a cheque in a couple of weeks and you’re starting your new life. Somebody’s going to be very happy in 2025.”
It’s been a record-breaking year for the hospital lottery, which started with modest expectations but has morphed into a money-making machine. More than $33 million worth of tickets have been sold for the draw to date, more than $2.6 million than was brought in all of last year, including December’s record-setting draw.
Proceeds from the November draw, which will likely top $1.4 million, and the December draw, for the second year in a row have been earmarked for retrofitting the triage area of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, a project expected to start in the new year.
Dr. Kyle Lansdell, who heads up emergency and trauma services at the hospital, said the impact has been phenomenal, touching every corner of the health-care facility.
“As you know, the emergency department is a busy place and we need spaces that are going to provide, safe and efficient and excellent care. This is going to make an amazing difference in helping us to achieve that goal,” Lansdell said on Thursday, outside the Foundation’s 50/50 store at Intercity Shopping Centre.
To date, since launching in January 2021, the draw has awarded more than $48 million in prizes.
It’s only getting bigger and better, Craig said.
“The Thunder Bay 50/50, we used to say, was Thunder Bay’s best-kept secret, but it isn’t anymore. Through telling friends and connections out of the city, we are seeing people from all across the province interested in our game, playing our game and occasionally winning it,” he said.
“But more importantly we are bringing the dollars into the community that’s helping our health care.”
Tickets for the December draw go on sale on Friday at 11:30 a.m. and will be available until Thursday, Jan. 2 at 11:59 p.m. The draw is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2025.
There will be an additional $250,000 in bonus draws in this month’s draw, including a $50,000 early bird prize drawn for on New Year’s Eve.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Intercity Shopping Centre store, or online at www.thunderbay5050.ca. Purchasers must be physically in Ontario in order to buy tickets. Ticket packages range from $10 to $250.
Ticket sales for November's draw remain on sale until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. The grand prize is currently more than $1.36 million.
